Quad Core vs Dual Core
Posted by Albert Jerusalem on Saturday, October 16, 2010
Under: Processors
Is quad core faster than dual core? How will a change to quad core
affect my computer performance? Without going into deep technical
details I try to answer these questions through a quad core vs dual core
comparison.
The computer chip is the brain of a computer and its speed of operation is directly proportional to its clocking frequency (measured in Gigahertz nowadays). More the transistors on a chip, more is its clocking frequency. So for many years, microprocessor manufacturing giants AMD and Intel focused on increasing the number of transistors, backed by Moore's law which stated that the number will double every 18-24 months. The number of processors in chips increased at the rate predicted by Moore's law until the hit a technological limit which forbid creation of chips faster than around 4 GHz.
When the computer microprocessor manufacturers hit a dead end in terms of the number of transistors they could put on a silicon chip (due to heat problems), they decided to put together multiprocessor chips. Instead of building a faster core, they decided to put together multiple cores which gave rise to dual core and quad core technology. The question that every common computer user and a new computer buyer asks is the following. Does a quad core give double performance speed compared to dual core? You will have an answer to that question in the quad core vs dual core comparison that follows next.
Quad Core vs Dual Core – Performance
Just like putting in more cylinders in a car engine provides greater speed and power, one would think that putting in twice as many processors should double the performance speed, right? Unfortunately, that is not true in case of multiprocessor chips and the speed does not double up, but is substantially higher. The reason for that is twofold. Although a dual or a quad core has multiple cores, the clocking speed does not double up as the task is not shared by the two or four processors simultaneously. However, there is an increased multitasking ability due to division of tasks among the chips. So quad cores can be fast but not twice as fast.
The second reason why the increased speed of the quad core due to greater multitasking ability is not useful is the incompatibility of softwares being run on them. The software that is being run has to have a multithreading facility. That is, it should be programmed to be able to use the four cores at a time! Very few software products can do that currently. If you run Adobe Photoshop on a quad core, which has a multithreading facility, you will see the application zooming fast compared to that on a dual core computer. Though the clocking speed is not substantially higher than dual core processors, quad processors offer phenomenal multitasking ability which surpasses any other processors. Let us get into a more specific comparison in terms of the quad core vs dual core – benchmarks. Here I present a performance comparison between Intel's dual core vs quad core processors and AMD's quad core vs dual core processors.
Intel Quad Core Vs Dual Core
The Intel quad cores provide a maximum clocking speed of around 3 Ghz which is comparable to the high end dual and is a lot more expensive than Intel dual cores. With a greater (12 Mb) L2 cache, the processing speed is indeed enhanced for the quad. However, you won't see the difference in the operation of a high end Intel dual core and a Intel quad, unless you run graphic intensive applications or application that use up substantial processing power.
AMD Quad Core Vs Dual Core
The AMD Quad Phenom has a maximum clocking speed of 3.4 Ghz, compared to the the Intel dual core maximum clocking speed of 3.33 GHz. This combined with a faster communicating ability between cores due to the 2000 MHz maximum FSB (Front Side Bus) compared to 1600 MHz FSB in Intel dual cores, AMD Quad Phenom is much faster. The AMD Quad processor also costs lesser than the dual cores of Intel. So AMD is clearly the winner here as it is faster and cheaper.
Quad Core Vs Dual Core - Gaming
If you make a comparison between dual core vs quad core processors, in terms of 3D graphic intensive gaming, the quad processors are clear winners. Due to their higher multitasking ability and the multithreading capacity of 3D gaming softwares, quad processors can easily handle graphic intensive gaming.
Quad Core Vs Dual Core – Prices
The prices of quad core are substantially higher than dual cores. Intel's quad Q8200 processor is priced at $170 compared to the prices of dual cores which are substantially lower. AMD quad prices are a bit lower compared to Intel quad processors.
Quad Core Vs Dual Core Processors: Verdict
In terms of performance, the quad core wins over hands down over the dual cores in terms of multitasking ability. More and more softwares are catching up and being upgraded with multithreading ability. That essentially means that buying a quad core is sound investment for the future. Once you upgrade to a quad core, you won't have to upgrade for a long time for sure!
Hope this quad core vs dual core comparison helps you in coming to a decision about whether you need a quad core upgrade. My advice is that you should go for the quad if its within your budget reach. It puts phenomenal computing ability at your hands and its particularly well suited for gaming!
The computer chip is the brain of a computer and its speed of operation is directly proportional to its clocking frequency (measured in Gigahertz nowadays). More the transistors on a chip, more is its clocking frequency. So for many years, microprocessor manufacturing giants AMD and Intel focused on increasing the number of transistors, backed by Moore's law which stated that the number will double every 18-24 months. The number of processors in chips increased at the rate predicted by Moore's law until the hit a technological limit which forbid creation of chips faster than around 4 GHz.
When the computer microprocessor manufacturers hit a dead end in terms of the number of transistors they could put on a silicon chip (due to heat problems), they decided to put together multiprocessor chips. Instead of building a faster core, they decided to put together multiple cores which gave rise to dual core and quad core technology. The question that every common computer user and a new computer buyer asks is the following. Does a quad core give double performance speed compared to dual core? You will have an answer to that question in the quad core vs dual core comparison that follows next.
Quad Core vs Dual Core – Performance
Just like putting in more cylinders in a car engine provides greater speed and power, one would think that putting in twice as many processors should double the performance speed, right? Unfortunately, that is not true in case of multiprocessor chips and the speed does not double up, but is substantially higher. The reason for that is twofold. Although a dual or a quad core has multiple cores, the clocking speed does not double up as the task is not shared by the two or four processors simultaneously. However, there is an increased multitasking ability due to division of tasks among the chips. So quad cores can be fast but not twice as fast.
The second reason why the increased speed of the quad core due to greater multitasking ability is not useful is the incompatibility of softwares being run on them. The software that is being run has to have a multithreading facility. That is, it should be programmed to be able to use the four cores at a time! Very few software products can do that currently. If you run Adobe Photoshop on a quad core, which has a multithreading facility, you will see the application zooming fast compared to that on a dual core computer. Though the clocking speed is not substantially higher than dual core processors, quad processors offer phenomenal multitasking ability which surpasses any other processors. Let us get into a more specific comparison in terms of the quad core vs dual core – benchmarks. Here I present a performance comparison between Intel's dual core vs quad core processors and AMD's quad core vs dual core processors.
Intel Quad Core Vs Dual Core
The Intel quad cores provide a maximum clocking speed of around 3 Ghz which is comparable to the high end dual and is a lot more expensive than Intel dual cores. With a greater (12 Mb) L2 cache, the processing speed is indeed enhanced for the quad. However, you won't see the difference in the operation of a high end Intel dual core and a Intel quad, unless you run graphic intensive applications or application that use up substantial processing power.
AMD Quad Core Vs Dual Core
The AMD Quad Phenom has a maximum clocking speed of 3.4 Ghz, compared to the the Intel dual core maximum clocking speed of 3.33 GHz. This combined with a faster communicating ability between cores due to the 2000 MHz maximum FSB (Front Side Bus) compared to 1600 MHz FSB in Intel dual cores, AMD Quad Phenom is much faster. The AMD Quad processor also costs lesser than the dual cores of Intel. So AMD is clearly the winner here as it is faster and cheaper.
Quad Core Vs Dual Core - Gaming
If you make a comparison between dual core vs quad core processors, in terms of 3D graphic intensive gaming, the quad processors are clear winners. Due to their higher multitasking ability and the multithreading capacity of 3D gaming softwares, quad processors can easily handle graphic intensive gaming.
Quad Core Vs Dual Core – Prices
The prices of quad core are substantially higher than dual cores. Intel's quad Q8200 processor is priced at $170 compared to the prices of dual cores which are substantially lower. AMD quad prices are a bit lower compared to Intel quad processors.
Quad Core Vs Dual Core Processors: Verdict
In terms of performance, the quad core wins over hands down over the dual cores in terms of multitasking ability. More and more softwares are catching up and being upgraded with multithreading ability. That essentially means that buying a quad core is sound investment for the future. Once you upgrade to a quad core, you won't have to upgrade for a long time for sure!
Hope this quad core vs dual core comparison helps you in coming to a decision about whether you need a quad core upgrade. My advice is that you should go for the quad if its within your budget reach. It puts phenomenal computing ability at your hands and its particularly well suited for gaming!
In : Processors